The Untouchables
by Alone.In.Infinity
Summary: What would you do if you were one of the strongest Shinobi in the village and was being hunted down by an unknown enemy? Duh! Find this guy and kill him! Well that's what Shikamaru and Ino think until the moment comes and tricky situations arise. Add some emotions and awkward moments into the mix and life definitely gets interesting. Shika/Ino
1. Chapter 1: Relax, Take It Easy

**Author Note:**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Naruto Unfortunately :P**

**First Story! I've had this idea for a while, and I'm finally putting pen to paper :) or you know Fingers to keyboard xD Hope you enjoy and if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes please PM me and I'll fix it!**

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><p><strong>The Untouchables<strong>

_A Naruto/ShikaIno Story _

**Chapter 1**

_Ino Yamanaka was tired._

Scratch that sore **AND** tired. Having just arrived back from a two month mission to Suna who wouldn't be? Along with that, being attacked on the way to and from Suna then having to report it all to the fifth Hokage Tsunade (she just loves the little details) and life just got a lot more complicated.

Ino sat down hard on her bed stretching before lying back with a sigh. On the plus side, at least she didn't need to listen to Temari yapping on about kami knows what to Shikamaru, whilst ignoring Ino 24/7.

Ino was just about to give in to the much needed beauty sleep she'd been deprived of. When somebody knocked on her apartment door. She stood us with a groan, cursing under her breath.

Her apartment was a decent size for a kunoichi like herself, including a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom all a moderate size, although she had been getting complaints from Chouji about not having a guest room, but considering the only person that ever slept over was Sakura and all they did was stay up all night eventually falling asleep on the living room floor, there really was no need.

She reached the front door opening it roughly. The scowl she was wearing quickly slipped into a smile as she saw Chouji at the door holding a bag of what looked suspiciously like food. She quickly ushered him in taking the bag as he passed.

"As much as I want to stay Ino, you're gonna have to take your share, I need to give the rest to Shikamaru, you're not my only friend you know." Chouji said a smile on his face, swiftly grabbing the bag before heading to her kitchen.

He placed the bag on the counter pulling out three or four containers. "So how was the mission? It was longer than most." He questioned.

Ino let out a groan. "Don't get me started. It's hard enough having to stay in that hell hole of a place, I mean come on. No place should to be that hot! But on top of that having to listen to Temari flirt with pineapple head, and nobody gets anything done. Why do you think the mission was extended?"

Chouji let out a chuckle having laid out the a plate food for her, and placing the rest into her fridge he headed towards her door, a half full brown bag in his hand. "Someone sounds jealous." He teased trying to cheer her up.

"Ha! Jealous yeah right." She replied shaking her head.

"Well I gotta go deliver this to lover boy. I'll see you tomorrow at the usual place. Don't be late, Shikamaru's paying and take a shower you stink." Chouji winked before dashing out of the apartment.

She glared at the now shut door. She would have chased after him and beaten him to the ground. That is if she had the energy but instead she dropped it making a mental note to get back at him later, before heading to the kitchen. Ino grabbed the ready made plate of food and sat on the counter slowly eating the food, not having the energy to enjoy Chouji's delicious cooking. She finished the meal and placed the plate in the kitchen sink, before grabbing one of Shikamaru's old shirts left there over the years and a pair of boy shorts, then heading to the bathroom for one of her famous 1 hour showers.

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><p><em>Shikamaru Nara was having a pretty good day.<em>

After arriving back from his mission to Suna he was happy to be back, which was shown with the small smirk he was now wearing. Yeah sure Suna had a nice sky but nothing could beat Konoha's clouds. After reporting back to the Hokage Shikamaru was relaxing in his usual spot eyes half-open, arms folded behind his head and legs spread apart. Not tired one bit. Unlike his blonde teammate. He had mastered the art of sleeping with eyes open, whilst standing and being able to sleep anywhere, meaning that his lazy nature actually gave him a lot of energy... That he liked to spend on cloud watching.

He closed his eyes. Being one of Konoha's strongest shinobi as well as being the fifth Hokage's advisor, chief tactician and the heir of the Nara Clan you would expect him to be warn out, which he usually was. Not sleeping at especially hard times and not eating until all his work was done. That was Shikamaru's way, no-one agreed with it, and he had to deal with the constant nagging from Ino and Chouji about him being 'Under weight', not to mention the threats he'd been receiving from his mother. He shivered.

Shikamaru was suddenly brought out of his daydream as a weight settled on his chest, or three weights to be exact, he slowly opened one eye staring lazily at the three small genin sitting on him.

"Shikamaru-sensei." A boy with perfectly styled, straight shoulder length hair whined. "When do we start training? We've been out of action for ages. Chouji's group are fun but we want you to teach us."

"Yeah! Jiro is right!" Taro Hayashi the boys brother said, combing his had through his hair, pushing up his hair and making sure that it stayed up. "We wanna know about your mission and your alone time with Ino-cha-! OW! Saburo Why?!" Taro exclaimed staring at the boy who hit him in disbelief.

"We're not supposed to be asking about classified missions." The third boy explained while he put his afro comb into his pocket, after on more fluff up of his afro. "You should know this already..." He trailed off.

Shikamaru closed his eye. Having Genin in general was troublesome enough but having to deal with three boys, which you don't get that to often, and finding out they were all brothers in the same year meaning triplets made Shikamaru think that life liked to fuck with him. not to mention they were all unnaturally obsessed with their hair. Wait a second... maybe that's why they bonded so well with Ino, he thought.

He sighed and sat up, shoving the three of his lap. He yawned then stretched himself out like a cat. "Guys come on. What happened to my one day rest?" He said wondering when they became so eager.

"It ran away when it saw these three coming up the hill." A deep voice said, followed by a chuckle.

"Ah... Troublesome." Shikamaru murmured. He got up walking swiftly toward Chouji, grabbing the bag of food he was carrying, much like Ino did and walking past him down the hill.

"You're welcome! Don't forget tomorrow at Yakiniku, don't be late. Your paying!" Chouji shouted after him, receiving a raised hand as acknowledgement. He shook his head looking at the three genin still standing there with bored looks on their faces. Like Sensei like genin chouji thought adopting a small smile.

Shikamaru smirked as he walked away, glad that he was out of that situation. He walked on heading towards his apartment dreading what would happen tomorrow. Paying for him, Chouji and Ino was bad enough but he had a feeling that the whole gang would be there. There went next weeks food shopping. He sighed suddenly tired, finally coming to a decision that sleep would be better than food right now.

He slowly opened the door to his apartment and made his way to his bedroom, crawling into his bed and falling asleep instantly.

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><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**And Scene...**

**If you're wondering. Yes. Taro, Jiro and Saburo are the triplets from Black Bird the manga (love them soo much xD they're fun to mess around with), but considering their not really 'Main characters' there wouldn't really be a point in putting this story under crossover. **

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter more to come soon!**


	2. Chapter 2: Wake Up Call, Triple Trouble

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Black Bird**

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><p><strong>The Untouchables<strong>

_A Naruto/ShikaIno Story_

**Chapter 2**

_"SHIKAMARU!" _

_Shikamaru quickly closed his eyes, lying back as if he'd been asleep for a while. Ino wasn't fooled having spent most of her time with him and Chouji she knew when Shika didn't want to deal with her. But still the seven-year old strutted up to Shikamaru's lying form. _

_"It's not fair Shika. Forehead said she would have her first kiss before me! Me!" Shikamaru sighed mumbling a soft troublesome under his breath. He'd heard his father saying the word a lot lately and liked the sound of it. _

_"She probably will no-one would want to kiss you." _

_"Shikamaru!" Ino __whined.__  
><em>

_"And why are you telling me Chouji would be better." He sighed again. _

_"That's because I've made up my mind. You will be my first kiss Shika. Nooo question about it." She said cheerfully, leaning towards him._

_ He blushed looking away before looking suspiciously at her. By then he'd decided to just go along with it, after all it was just a kiss. He leant into her-_

Ino woke up with a start. She hadn't had that dream or rather memory in years. She recalled the memory, shaking her head at the disappointing ending. They been about to kiss when Shikaku and Inoichi interrupted them with knowing smiles. Her face grew into a sad smile at the memory of Shikamaru's late father and her own.

Finally she shook off the dream and depressing memories opting for going through her plans today. She checked the time 4:30 am and sat up with a groan, wondering why she had to wake up at this hour, she could have slept for longer she thought as she got out of bed, going directly to her bathroom.

A shower, breakfast and some stretching later and Ino was prepared to head out to her first errand of the day. Waking up Shikamaru. It had become a tradition for Ino to wake him up every morning at 6:30, ever since they moved into the same apartment complex together and he'd gotten the job of looking after three highly energetic genin. They preferred to live closer together after their father's death rather than having to seek each others company across town, not that they were in any kind of relationship other than being really close childhood friends, she didn't want to deal with another assumption from Sakura about her being 'friends with benefits' with Shikamaru.

Ino grabbed her hair tie swiftly tying her hair into her signature high pony tail and made her way to her apartment door. She opened it quickly, locking it behind her before crossing the hallway to the door opposite hers. Yeah they lived opposite each other.

She opened the door using the key she'd been given and headed towards the kitchen. She glanced at the discarded bag of food left on the counter and silently cursed Chouji for not making sure he actually ate any of the food given to him. She placed the bag in the fridge deciding that she would sort it out later and headed towards his bedroom.

The room was dark, she could hardly make out the features of the plain bare room he spent his time sleeping in. She noted the body lying on the covers, before pulling open the heavy black curtains that blocked the early morning light. Ino stared at him shaking her head at the fact that he still had his clothes from yesterday on, then silently screamed when she realised she'd have to clean all the sand he'd dropped around the house.

"Kami Shika! Get up!" She screamed grabbing his ankles and tugging him off the bed. Not without noticing how peaceful he looked when sleeping, she shoved the thought aside.

He groaned as he hit the floor but allowed Ino to continue dragging him to the bathroom. They'd been through this routine before and Shikamaru hated to say it but he loved mornings like this when he would be dragged out of bed, it meant trouble from a troublesome person he knew, probably due to the fact that he hadn't had a single bite of the food Chouji had prepared. Oh and did he mention that he loved it when she called him 'Shika'.

Soon enough - too soon for Shikamaru - Ino had managed to drag him into the bathroom and was about to drop his leg not to kindly on the floor, when he stood up, stretching out his arms as he yawned. "Thanks Ino, now I don't have to make the trip to the bathroom." He said as he took of his Jonin vest. He was about to take off his fish net shirt when Ino, who had been standing ranting about how much arm strength she'd gained this past year, suddenly stopped and walked out the door.

Shikamaru stared after her then shrugged, putting it of as something that didn't concern him, before closing the door.

Ino, who had made it to the kitchen by the time Shikamaru closed the bathroom door, sat at the the kitchen table banging her head against the wood. Kami how could she think that Shikamaru was good looking? She probably would have jumped him if he'd taken his shirt off. She blushed red then heading to the fridge with the intent to stick her head into it until it went back to its normal pale parlour, but then saw the bag of Chouji prepared food and grabbed that instead hoping to force feed it down his throat until he'd had all his daily meals.

There was a sudden knocking at the door, as she headed towards it she could tell by the chakra signals that the Hayashi brothers had arrived. She opened the door quickly glad to see the three of them, and was jumped by them like she was every time they came round. She stumbled back as they all hugged her singing out a chorus of 'Ino-chan's. she hugged them back rubbing them on their backs having learnt from the last time she tried patting their hair.

She walked with them back to the living room chatting to them about everything and nothing, before they were interrupted by an unusually interested Shikamaru. He stood in the entrance to the room, leaning against the door frame in nothing but a towel.

"Shikamaru put some clothes on!" Ino yelled being the first to notice him. She kept her head down hoping to avoid looking at his naked chest, wondering why today she was behaving strangely, it was probably something to do with the dream she had this morning.

"Troublesome... If you'd left me some this wouldn't have happen-" He didn't get to finish as he was tackled by Saburo. Taro soon followed after explaining to Ino that 'A man dressed like that, is a man ready to fight.' Ino wrote it of as a something to do with the sumo wrestling code of conduct.

Ino looked down as she felt Jiro softly tugging at her purple uniform. She smiled at him before taking his hand and heading to the kitchen determined to actually set out Chouji's food instead of leaving it half done every time she tried.

Soon enough with help from Jiro, Ino had managed to set out breakfast for all four of them, excluding herself considering she had already eaten, and was about to exit the apartment when somebody called her name. She glanced back at Shikamaru who was desperately trying to keep his towel around his middle. "Ino hold them down while I get dressed." Shikamaru said using his usual bored tone. Currently he was he was holding Taro back with one hand pushing against the boy's head and holding up his towel with the other hand, Saburo unfortunately lost his round with Shikamaru and was facedown on the floor.

"Sure, but hurry up. I don't want Ibiki on my tail about being late." She walked back in grabbing Taro by the back of the shirt and dragging him into the kitchen after throwing Saburo over her shoulder. She placed them both down next to Jiro, ignoring the admiring looks she was getting from Jiro.

"I'm going now so don't disturb your sensei too much and make sure he eats all his food." Ino said as she finally walked out the door. It closed behind her with a bang, leaving the three brothers and Shikamru to their food.

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><p>Shikamaru glanced at Saburo with impatience, an emotion rarely shown on his face. He grabbed the boy's hand showing him the correct way to hold a kunai for what seemed like the hundredth time. He'd been trying to teach the boy the best and most efficient way to hold a kunai for a quick release and easy handling, but had to get him out of the habit of holding it like he held his comb.<p>

Even if he was the laziest shinobi in Konoha, when it came to responsibility he made sure to keep it professional.

Ten minutes later and Shikamaru had given up. He looked back at the three genin behind him throwing all sorts of weapons at the targets he had set up. They were good kids first generation shinobi, their parents only allowing them to join the academy if all three of them joined together. Taro the most observant of the three being able to use his photographic memory well and always the energetic Naruto type, Saburo impulsive and instinctive, not always making the best move but being able to work the best under pressure much like Kiba, and finally Jiro probably the most subdued and intelligent of the three, often joining Shikamaru in a game of shogi or Go, taking after Shikamaru himself.

He quickly glanced at the sun predicting that it was almost noon. He walked over to the boys who had run out of weapons to throw and were now procrastinating whether to throw Jiro who was against being thrown high-speed at a target, or Saburo who was for being thrown like the animate object he was, in this case a human being.

"Okay Team 10, training over I'm going so make sure to clean up the weapons." Shikamaru said knowing fully well that he would have to help or you know supervise them as they cleaned up the area. He held in a grin at the coincidence that he was the Jonin leading team 10.

Jiro stared at him cold, hard and calculating before throwing a kunai at him. Shikamaru being the Jonin that he was caught it gracefully. He smirked approvingly at Jiro.

"Okay I'll help, but if I don't come to tomorrow's morning training it's because a certain Yamanaka killed me." He said picking up some of the fallen shurikens. They all nodded in reply.

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><p>Ino was annoyed. Here she was at Yakiniku with Chouji but Shikamaru still hadn't turned up. She tapped her fingers against the table with impatience. "You told him the right time right? I should have expected this from him, I mean the amount of times he was late- No is late I shouldn't really have hoped he'd be early right? Hey Chouji, Chouji are you even listening to me?" Ino snapped her fingers rousing Chouji from his Intent studying of the menu even though he'd had practically everything on it before.<p>

Chouji was about to answer when Shikamaru walked in closely followed by Naruto and Kiba. Shikamaru gave Ino a bored look mentioning to the two shinobi behind him, Ino understood what he meant, there were more on the way. There goes her plan for a simple Ino-Shika-Chou lunch.

They sat down around the round table Shikamaru situating himself next to Ino.

"No rant today Ino? I was expecting one." Shikamaru whispered under his breath.

"Nah, I'll need the energy later when dealing with Naruto and Hinata." She whispered back before smiling and asking Naruto and Kiba about their day.

Ten minutes later and Chouji was ready to order he raised his hand to grab the waiters attention just as Sakura and Hinata walked in pulling a struggling Shino behind them. Shikamaru laughed softy at the sight of a dishevelled Shino, the silent insect user normally composed. His smile quickly flew of his face as he saw Sasuke enter the room, Sai followed behind him.

"So is everybody here?" Sakura asked as she sat down. She glanced around the table noting that everybody had sat down. "No Tenten or Rock Lee...?"

"Nah they're on a mission." Naruto replied. Everyone was silent remembering their fallen comrade. Naruto quickly looked at Hinata, even if it had been years since Neii's death Hinata still broke down from time to time.

Shikamaru let out a sigh breaking the silence. "Less for me to pay." he said earning a slap from Ino. He leant back with his hands folded behind his head and sighed. It's going to be a long day.

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><p><strong>Author Note: <strong>

**And that's the end of this chapter.  
><strong>

**Thanks for the reviews and the next chapter will hopefully be up soon!**


	3. Chapter 3: Chicken Wings And Arguments

**Author Note:**

**It's been a while since I updated sooo... I'm sorry :'( and feel free to push me off a cliff if you feel like it :) Anyway here's the latest chapter, thank you for reading and reviewing and hopefully I'll update soon (highly unlikely)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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><p><strong>The Untouchables<strong>

_A Naruto/ShikaIno Story_

**Chapter 3**

"Ino! That last one is mine, so don't touch it."

"Yours my ass, I saw it first."

"Well that's because it was at the bottom- Hey Kiba don't touch that piece of chicken."

"It's too late now, plus I need the protein, these muscles doesn't grow overnight" Kiba said munching the last chicken wing which Ino and Chouji had previously been fighting over, while flexing his muscles.

Ino turned away in disgust looking at the table of half eaten food. They had decided to just buy everything on the menu twice to satisfy the hunger of the 10 shinobi sitting at the table, but apparently they had added more dishes to the menu because they were not going to finish all this food any time soon.

"Shikamru eat some more you've hardly eaten anything." Ino complained looking for easy ways to dispose of the food without wasting the spent money.

"The less I eat the less I have to-" He started before having his sentence finished by the raging blond. "PAY! I know but you realise you've already paid right? dumb ass."

"Troublesome..."

He mumbled before obliging and grabbing a few more pieces of beef.

"Pass me the- thanks." Shikamaru grabbed the sauce held out to him, giving Ino a soft smile.

Sakura laughed. "You two are like a married couple. I mean it's like you know exactly what's going on in each others heads." She said, she had always been kind of jealous of the relationship Ino shared with Shikamaru but it wasn't like she was going to admit that.

"Well Ino can read minds... When she wants to." Shikamaru added on after experiencing the heat of Ino's glare.

"We've just known each other long enough to know what the other likes. He's practically my brother." Ino explained oblivious to the winces the men at the table let out at the 'brother' comment. Bother zoned.

They all knew there was something going on between Shikamaru and Ino, they knew Ino was the most 'comfortable' around Shikamaru - not that Chouji would admit that - they knew that Shikamaru might not even know he himself liked Ino, but they could see it in the protectiveness he had over Ino, to the fights and playful moments they had together, although it took Naruto a bit longer than the others to figure it out. They all knew that something was bound to happen and that it was gonna take a while if Shikamaru didn't pick up the pace and make the first move.

"Right brother..." Naruto said dragging out the long pause. "So anyway how's your relationship with Temari going?" He asked directing the question at Shikamaru.

"Who ever said Naruto had tact." Kiba commented under his breath earning a shove from Chouji.

Ino gave Naruto a sharp look before turning her blue orbs to Shikamaru, anticipating his answer.

"Fine, she's gotten a lot better at shoji since the last time I visited."

"I mean the 'relationship'."

Sigh "Like I said before there is no relationship between me and Temari."

"There's never a relationship Shikamaru! You need to get out more the closest thing to a girlfriend you've had was Temari, excluding Ino that is." Kiba interrupted, flapping a hand in Ino's direction.

"Women are troublesome, my mother and Ino are enough." He said retreating to short sentences. Shikamaru didn't have anything against Kiba, but saying anything misleading in the company of Naruto and Sakura and things could get difficult, plus dealing with that sort of stuff was indeed troublesome.

"Don't tell me you prefer men?" Sai suddenly included looking at him with what could have been hopefulness.

Shikamaru's normal parlour paled slightly. "No I'm definitely straight."

"Ah come on tell us." Sakura said joining the game of 'Guessing Shikamaru's interests'. "Give us a hint.  
>"What kinda girl do you like, do you have someone your interested in?"<p>

Shikamaru eyed the residents of the table warily, even Hinata and Shino looked intrigued. Enlightening them with his personal and did he add private thoughts on certain people or person in this case didn't really seem appealing to him. The only person he actually told things to was Chouji and even that became awkward when they started on the subject of Ino.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone but recently his feelings for Ino had been developing into something beyond friendship and entering a place where he was sure he was not wanted by Ino. The urge to grab Ino and keep her in his sight 24/7 may seem a bit stalker-ish but it was better than watching other men stare at her when she walked down the street, jealously sure was a bitch. Wanting something you couldn't have came in as a close second.

By the time he'd finished his internal rambling as well as having unconsciously ignored Sakura's question. Sakura and Kiba had moved on to interrogating Chouji.

"You can tell us I mean everyone wants to know right Ino?" Kiba asked.

"Well of course who wouldn't want to know who the genius Shikamaru likes." A devious look entered Ino's eyes.

This got Shikamaru's attention. In an attempt to ward her of the trail he gave her a bored look. "There's a reason I don't tell you things." He said, then regretted it as soon as it escaped from his mouth.

Ino was not happy with that statement. What did he mean? What things hadn't be told her? She could feel her temper rapidly rising and could practically feel the heat enter her cheeks. "Well please Shika enlighten me in why I'm not told things by you?"

Chouji glanced at the both before glancing around and seeing the quick and open stares they were getting from the rest of the

"Hey guys I think you should take this outside." Sasuke injected, receiving a sharp look from the shadow user before he got up and walked out dragging the raging blond behind him.

Chouji let out a sigh of relief reaching for the last piece of food on the table, then heard the unmistakable sound of Ino screaming at Shikamaru down the street. They didn't get to far he thought. Then grabbed the last bits of food and made his way outside noting the group of shinobi following behind him.

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><p>Meanwhile Shikamaru's patience was ready to snap in half and be thrown in Ino's face. Normally he could stand someone insulting the crap out of him but Ino was one of the small group of people he actually cared about and her opinion of him was one thing he worried about, constantly.<p>

"Kami Shika, if there's something wrong just tell me stop acting like an idiot and putting it off." Ino had gone from being insulted that he didn't tell her anything to being worried that something serious was going on with him and that he just didn't want to tell her.

"Nothing's going on Ino! I just don't feel the need to tell you everything that goes on in my life. And why are you so interested in the state of my relationship with other women, your not my mother or my girlfriend!" Shikamaru went on finally losing the battle of keeping his patience in check.

A silence followed.

He watched the tears well up in Ino's eyes and was prepared for that slap that would definitely follow, when Sakura who had heard the tail end of the argument rush over to her ushering her away whilst glaring at him.  
>Ino turned back to him glaring through her teary eyes that also showed a deep pain, he'd hit a nerve, he was sure.<p>

He watched Sakura and Hinata lead her away from him, quickly regretting the words of anger that had just escaped.

Wearing his usual mask of indifference he turned and walked in the other direction, trembling slightly with anger. He heard the heavy steps of Chouji walking after him followed by Kiba and Naruto light and quick steps. He shook off the large hand placed on his shoulder and turned to the nearest wall punching it hard. Chouji flinched with shock.

Ouch that was painful. Right pain that was the aim, it meant he wouldn't have to think about what just happened with Ino. Pain was good. He shook out his fist wiping the blood on his flank jacket.

"You alright?" Chouji asked watching his friend he could tell he was mentally beating himself up, even when they were young Shikamaru had a thing against Ino crying normally he was the one that had a 'talk' with the person that made her cry but when it was him he had trouble forgiving himself.

"Yea-" He started.

"Nara Shikamaru, You have been summoned by the Fifth Hokage."


	4. Chapter 4: The Briefing

****Author Note:****

****Well Hey Guys! Long time no see, I'm back finally... I've been pretty busy but hopefully will be back for good and with more regular updates. Also anyone notice the name change? I am now AloneInInfinity (logically/physically impossible as Infinity is not a place, but hey it sounds cool not to mention deep XD), Goodbye ShadowMaster98 it was fun while it lasted *cue farewell wave*. Anyways Enjoy the chapter and reviews are always welcome.****

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><p><strong><strong>The Untouchables<strong>**

__A Naruto/ShikaIno Story__

****Chapter 4****

Angry and confused were the best words to describe Ino Yamanaka at this moment in time.

Angry at Shikamaru for embarrassing her in front of their friends, but mainly for implying that she was not his mother or his _'girlfriend'_ meaning that she was not entitled to be the confidant he needed, to be the person he could talk to when he was sad, alone, troubled. And that's when the confusion came in.

More than two decades of knowing someone and you'd think you have a bond stronger than most. Along with that the amount of times she'd saved his ass and his hers, a little trust and sharing of feelings is to be expected, isn't it? It just aggravated her, she just couldn't comprehend. It was like her mind was going around in circles an infinite loop with no exit. Why? Why? Why-

"Yamanka! Are you even listening?!"

Ino looked up, straight into the eyes of the fifth Hokage. A blush heated her cheeks. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" Ino asked unsure and slightly embarrassed. Ino wasn't one to zone out in briefings or around powerful Shinobi or Kunoichi that demanded respect.

Tsunade let out a huff before moving back and leaning against her desk. The room they were in was large and oval in shape. The wooden walls of the room were bare and marred with nicks and scruff marks, the only splash of colour - if you could call it that - came from the dull coloured scrolls and books scattered around the room. The heavy wooden door that acted as both the entrance and exit to the room was directly opposite the large windows that displayed the city of Konoha under a azure blue sky. The object that drew the most attention in the room was the large desk on which Tsunade was leaning. The wooden structure was littered with tattered scrolls and sheets of paper, along with the occasional food wrapper. A breeze from one of the open windows ruffled some of the scrolls already tittering on the edge of the desk, sending them tumbling to the ground.

Another sigh escaped the Hokage as she briefly glanced over at the fallen scrolls, a mess that fit unsurprisingly well in the already messy room. She looked back up staring intensely at the blond haired kunoichi standing in front of her before switch her gaze to the other, more bored looking shinobi adjacent to Ino.

The gesture reminded Ino of the reason why the anger she was trying to suppress kept bubbling up, having the source of said anger directly next to you didn't help she concluded. That and she still hadn't quite recovered from the emotional turmoil (slight exaggeration but hey, you shouldn't hurt a girls feelings) she had just experience not even an hour earlier.

"I'm not going to lie to you two. You are both in danger, more so than normal and I'm sure you both noticed." Tsunade said looking pointedly at Shikamaru, then glancing out of one of the many windows. He made no sign of acknowledgement. "I'll disclose what I can but there really isn't much so if you want to take the matter further, and I suggest you do - for your long term safety as well as Konoha's need for shinobi like yourselves, it probably be better if you investigated the issue independently. Not to say I won't help or give any new information to you, but I can't make any promises in the reliability of the information I may receive in the future."

Ino gazed at Tsunade intently, patiently waiting for her to carry on.

"Someone wants the two of you dead." The blunt way Tsunade put it, sparked curiosity in the pair. The prospect of danger never phased Shikamaru (the same could be said for Ino), he'd had to live with it for more than half his life, but a direct target on your head was definitely a riskier type of danger. "Well I say someone but it may be a larger organisation, as I said earlier, there really isn't much information currently. Just know that you've gotten on someone's bad side and they want revenge."

"As much as I want to put you guys under protection and all. I'm sure two shinobi of your caliber are able to handle anything thrown at you. That and I really don't want to pull you away from your already busy lives and jobs."

Shikamaru visibly relaxed. "I'm guessing all you're thinking of doing is decreasing our mission count or stopping our missions all together?"

"Yeah the first one, how did you know?" Tsunade asked, her tone heavy with sarcasm. She'd kinda gotten used to him predicting everything she thought or decided on, he was her chief tactician after all. "As far as I know your a direct target something we haven't had in a while so until the situation is sorted no more S rank missions or A rank for that matter, maybe even B rank and for you Shikamaru we'll assign another Jonin or Chunin to accompany you on any missions with your Genin team."

"So you have absolutely no idea who's after us?" Ino questioned hoping to find out some more. She was concerned to say the least. Their last mission had been littered with inconveniences and ambushes, more than the norm but she hadn't given it any thought. Maybe Shikamaru had, oh wait she should add that to the list of things concerning Shika, and not to mention her, that he hadn't told her about.

Tsunade turned towards them. "All I can say is that there's been a rumour going round that there's a large bounty on your heads in the underworld. So the person or people after you are definitely higher up in the criminal food chain, lying low and under the radar but still powerful, make sure you remember that. I just wanted to let you guys know, be on your guard and if I find out any more I'll be sure to tell you." Tsunade waved a hand silently dismissing them.

Ino and Shikamaru filed out into the hallway. As Ino was about to head down the stairs fully intent on ignoring the Naras' presence, he grabbed her arm and turned her towards him.

His eyes were blank and lacking emotion. She should have expected this, yet his careless expression fueled the anger ranging inside her. She glanced away. "What Shika?" Her tone was harsh.

"I need you to keep out an eye for any criminals associated with the letter Z. And if possible get into Ibiki's files see if there's anything Z related in there." The fierce yet calculating look in the young Jonin eyes, snapped Ino back into shinobi mode and she made a mental note as she gave a sharp nod before pulling away, swiftly descending the stairs.

As soon as Ino reached the doors leading outside she let out the breath she'd been holding in. She knew Shika was onto something and she had no choice but to go along with it. But that didn't mean she'd forgiven him. Oh no. Until she got an apology she was willing to be civil but nothing more, no morning wake up calls or surprise breakfasts. She would be going all out to ignore and avoid him every chance she got.

She walked quickly, rushing to get home. She really didn't want to deal with Ibiki and criminals right now the best thing to do currently was to go home, take a shower and sleep, Ino reasoned. Having to deal with the emotional trauma delivered by Shika earlier on, and then the added burden of constant awareness that someone was after you, which equaled to: be on guard twenty four seven. A rest was definitely needed.

* * *

><p>Shika shook his head as he watched the obviously pissed Ino rush down the stairs. He waited a good thirty seconds before following.<p>

He'd figured out some of the problem. It hadn't taken him long, actually he'd suspected something strange was happening after the third ambush - _cough cough_ attempted ambush, Ino's chakra sensing skills were at the highest level, if you know what I mean - on their journey to Suna. From there on he'd been paying close attention to their attackers noticing the 'Z's inked into the left hands of the attackers and on some of the equipment used against them. He was still confused about that damn 'Z'. Why they had them was under speculation. Several ideas had passed through his head including, the mastermind being able to tell who had taken the bounty up allowing him to punish or even kill those that had failed. Or maybe they were just underlings of the mysterious 'Z'. So many possibilities. But it couldn't hurt to have a list of high profile criminals with convenient 'Z' names. Not that the 'Z' necessarily stands for a name. It could really be anything and the vagueness was starting to frustrate him, but his frustration was quickly overcome by another thought.

A bounty huh. The idea of him being wanted was new, exciting and all but he knew it would end up troublesome. Normally people didn't tend to notice him passing him of as weak or uninteresting, he didn't have much of a presence, he didn't mind though, blending into the background gave him the upper hand of surprise and the time to pick up others habits. The reason for the bounty was intriguing as well not that he knew the reason but finding out would be a challenge he'd be happy to take up.

His thoughts turned to Ino now she was noticeable although underestimated like him. Her job at the Torture and Interrogation office put her in the minds of criminals (sometimes literally) almost daily, surly some would hold a grudge. If they made it out. Apart from that she was a high class Kunoichi, having mastered every known technique of the Yamanaka clan it was surprising she wasn't the clan head yet, though the fact that there was no clan leader currently, after the passing of Inoichi, Ino's chances of being the next clan leader were high, if the clan advisors stopped trying to delay the inevitable. Clan matters always ready to give a headache to anyone who even tried to comprehend.

Yet they were low flying exceptional shinobi the few people that did know this had a respect for them and their skill set, now that he thought about it maybe their reputation for actually being smart and productive shinobi had reached unwanted ears. It was a possibility, another to add to the list.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and casually walked out of the the academy in a complete opposite fashion of what his companion had done not to many minutes previous. His feet led him to a convenience store packed in between a Ramen joint and a carpet store on the main road.

He grabbed a packet of bandage off the shelf as well as some new hair ties, he'd just about run out and the one he was wearing now had lost it's tightness. A quick stop at the counter to pay for his items and he was out of the store and back into the mass of people.


End file.
